


The Soldier And The Ballerina

by altoinkblots



Series: Edween 2020 [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Edween Week 2020, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Trick or Treat: Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altoinkblots/pseuds/altoinkblots
Summary: To a tin soldier, time doesn’t exist. The only time that they truly know is that of the child that plays with them. Much like any other toy, their world revolves around a child. They know when the child is asleep, when the child is at school, and when the child is doing chores that they don’t want to do but their parents will ground them if they don’t. Toys also know that time is completely suspended when the child is playing with them, using their imagination to create worlds and stories without number.So to Edward, this was normal. All he needed was for a child to pick him up again. Not that he was ever played with before, but he was still a toy. So he waited. On the bottom of the ocean floor he waited, slowly sinking into the sand with the shifting currents.An Edwin retelling of Hans Christen Anderson's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."
Relationships: Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Series: Edween 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988002
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	The Soldier And The Ballerina

**Author's Note:**

> Today's prompt was "scream," and... well... someone _does_ scream, but this was pretty much an excuse to write this au without guilt for not working on my main wip. This is also closer to the Disney version from "Fantasia 2000," but mainly because I really didn't want to kill Ed and Winry off. Enjoy!!

Once upon a time, in a little boy’s room, stood a tin soldier with only one leg. He stood at attention with all of the other soldiers, protecting the other toys in the room from monsters under the bed, shadows in the closet, and anything else that would mean the toys harm. The other tin soldiers made fun of him for his red paint and one leg, but the little tin soldier paid them no mind. His red paint and one leg was what made him _special_. Even though the little boy never played with him.

On one such night, with the moon slowly waning away from being full, the tin soldiers stood at attention at the window. The stuffed animals were all right, the jack-in-the-box was closed and still, the wooden train set--while still out and sprawled all over the room--was still and unmoving. Everything was as it should be. A faint winter breeze crept in from the window, the not-full-moon-anymore casting long shadows into the child’s room. Still the soldiers kept watch.

Once everyone was sure that the child was securely asleep, they started to come to life. First it was the stuffed animals, the stuffing in them coming to life as they sat up from the ground, their glassy eyes blinking; next it was the jack-in-the-box who was careful to be quiet as he peeked his head out of his box. The rag dolls stood up, their fabric tendrils carrying their weight, the wooden train moved along the wooden tracks, clicking and clacking. They were all careful to be quiet so the little boy would stay asleep.

Something new caught the tin soldier’s eye, however. Across the room on the dresser, sat a wooden box. The tin soldier had never seen it before. Was it dangerous?

He hopped off of the window, balancing on his one leg and his bayonet held in one hand, and through the gathering of toys on the ground. They paid him no mind, and he even got lost in a rag doll’s dress at one point. Even so, he made it to the dresser without trouble. He hopped onto the handles, going up, up, up to the top. Once he was at the top, he carefully approached the box. It was white with brass filigree decorating it, and a crank on the left side. Still wary, he touched the crank. 

When he did, it started to move. Slowly, but as it moved the lid to the box rose, revealing a porcelain ballerina. Soft, tinkling music started and the ballerina, her blonde hair pulled back into an elegant bun, started to spin on one foot. 

The tin soldier could only watch. He had never seen anything like this before, he had never met another toy who also balanced on one leg!

The music slowed down and so did the ballerina. “Oh!” she said when she saw the tin soldier. “I’m sorry, did I bother you?”

The tin soldier shook his head. “No, you… you didn’t. I’ve just never seen you before.”

“That’s because I’m new,” said the ballerina. “You’re a tin soldier, aren’t you? Why do you only have one leg?”

“I was cast from the tin of a spoon,” he said. “I was also painted red while all of the other soldiers are blue.”

“I rather like red,” said the ballerina. “It’s close to pink, which is what I’m painted.”

“Pink is a nice color. Why are you on one leg?”

“I’m a ballerina, silly. I only need to be on one leg.”

“So all ballerinas stand on only one leg?”

“I guess so. All I ever do is spin to the music. Watch.”

The crank started to turn again. The light, tinkling music came back, and the ballerina spun on her one leg. The tin soldier was mesmerized. There was no other toy like her in the child’s room. The only other toy that made noise was the jack-in-the-box, and he was always surprising and loud. The ballerina, however, was soft and light, spinning gracefully on her one foot.

The music ended. “That’s all I can do, really,” she said.

“I think that’s wonderful,” said the tin soldier. 

“Thank you. What do you do?”

“Nothing, really. Nothing like that, anyway. The little boy plays with us during the day, and at night we watch over the toys to make sure that they’re safe and taken care of.”

“That’s not nothing, that’s important. I definitely feel safer with you here.”

“Glad to be of service.”

“Do you have a name, tin soldier?”

“I… I don’t know. I was never given one, I don’t think. I’m never played with,” he said in explanation. “I think the little boy gives out names.”

“That’s not true, you can choose whatever name you want!”

“Do you have a name, then?”

“I do,” she said rather proudly. “My name is Winry.”

“Why did you choose that one?”

“My first owner was a little girl named Winnifred, and all of her friends called her Winry. I liked the name, so when I was sold that’s what I chose.”

The tin soldier hummed. “I don’t know what name I would choose.”

“Do you mind if I helped?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’d be glad to have you help me.”

Winry spun around on her foot, the music tinkling slowly. “Well, you are a guardian,” she said. “You protect all of the other toys, and your red paint rather suits you. How about Edward?”

“Edward,” said the tin soldier. “I like it. My name is Edward.”

“Nice to meet you, Edward,” said Winry.

“Nice to meet you too, Winry,” said Edward. 

A grin broke out on both of their faces. 

“I like you,” said Winry. “You’re fun to talk to.”

“I like to too.”

“Are we friends?”

“I think that we’re friends,” said Edward. “I’d like us to be friends.”

Behind them, someone coughed. Edward turned around to see the jack-in-the-box glaring at them, his arms crossed. He hopped over to them, his own music jerking each time he landed on the ground. 

“Can I help you?” Edward asked.

The jack-in-the-box reached the foot of the dresser and glared at them. “Get away from the ballerina,” he said. 

“Why?” Edward asked. 

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Because I said so.”

“That’s not a real reason.”

“It is if you’re me.”

“Edward,” Winry whispered.

Edward turned to her. “What?”

She waved him over. Edward hopped next to her. “I don’t want to cause any trouble,” she said. 

“I’m not going to leave you. You’re my friend.”

She smiled softly at him. “Thank you,” she said, “but I don’t want to cause a scene. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

Edward nodded. “Okay.” He smiled at her. “It was really nice meeting you, Winry.”

“What did I say about the ballerina?” the jack-in-the-box cried.

“It was nice meeting you too, Edward,” she said. “Now go, before the jack-in-the-box wakes the child up.”

Edward nodded and hopped down the handles on the dresser to the floor. The jack-in-the-box glared at him the entire time. 

“You shouldn’t be talking to her,” he said. “She doesn’t want to talk to a defunct little toy like you.”

“Too bad,” said Edward. 

He hopped back to the window, all of the other toys making a path for him, glancing at him out of the corners of their eyes. He hopped back up onto the windowsill, falling into position with the other tin soldiers. They, too, glanced at him, but they didn’t say anything.

Across the room, Winry gave him a small wave. Edward waved back.

* * *

The moon was still waning, getting even smaller. Edward and the rest of the tin soldiers stood at attention at the windowsill. The rest of the toys were awake, and the jack-in-the-box marched between the dresser and the windowsill. Edward gritted his teeth together. Him and Winry had been waving at each other on and off all night, and he really did want to go over there. He had been looking forward to it all day. 

The jack-in-the-box grinned at him, baring his teeth. 

“Can’t we do something about that?” Edward asked the tin soldier next to him.

“He’s not causing any problems,” he said.

“Yeah, but.. Never mind.” He looked over at Winry and shrugged. 

“Maybe he’ll grow tired of it,” Edward mouthed over to her.

She shrugged. He was too far away. 

The jack-in-the-box made his way over to the dresser and started talking to Winry. From her body language, Edward could tell that she was annoyed, but the jack-in-the-box clearly couldn’t see that. Or, he didn’t care. 

With the jack-in-the-box’s back to him, Edward hopped off of the windowsill. The toys paid him no mind as he hopped over to the dresser and behind the jack-in-the-box. 

“... dance with me?” he asked.

“I’ve told you before, I can’t move,” said Winry. “I can only spin here in the box.”

“I’m in a box too, and _I_ can move.”

“Good for you,” Winry said dryly. Her eyes widened when she saw Edward.

“What was that?” the jack-in-the-box asked, turning around. Edward hid close to his box and out of sight.

“Nothing,” said Winry. “Shouldn’t you go back to pacing the room?”

“In a little bit.”

Ed rolled his eyes. 

“No, I really think that you should go.”

“Why do you want me to go in such a hurry?”

Winry sighed. “Please?”

The jack-in-the-box grinned. “Just because you said ‘please,’ then I’ll go. But I’ll be back.”

“I have no doubt that you will be,” she mumbled.

Edward hid in the shadows as the jack-in-the-box turned around. He jumped up the handles on the dresser as quickly as he could before the jack-in-the-box noticed that he was no longer on the windowsill. 

“Hi,” said Winry when he jumped onto the top of the dresser. “I’m glad you were able to sneak over here.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to talking to you all day.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile.

“Do you know why the jack-in-the-box is acting the way that he is?”

Winry sighed. “He’s a creep, and thinks that we’re both in boxes that I might like him. Having something similar to me does _not_ mean that I want to talk to you.”

“Oh.”

Winry’s eyes widened. “No, no, no! I didn’t mean you! I do like you, Edward. I really do like you.”

“Not just because I have one leg?”

Winry laughed. “Not just because of that. Although it does add to your charm.”

“Good,” he said. “Thanks, I mean. You’re great, too, if that wasn’t clear.”

“Come here, I want to try something.”

Ed hopped over to her box.

“No, come on in, it’s fine.”

Ed hopped into the box. Winry, even though they were on an even ground, still towered over him. She lowered his hand to him.

“Take it,” she said. 

Ed took her porcelain hand in his tin one. She started to spin, the music tinkling. Edward looked down at the disc that they both stood on that spun along with Winry. He looked up at her. She was smiling down at him.

“Do you like it?”

“I do,” Edward said with a smile. “I really do.”

“I can’t go much faster than this.”

“I don’t mind.”

Her hand squeezed his. She brought her other hand down, and Ed took that one as well. “Do you want me to lift you up?” she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“Why?” Edward asked, nervous. 

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” he said, realizing that as he said it, it was true. “Go ahead.”

“Okay, on three. One… Two… Three!”

Her hands wrapped around his waist and she lifted him up into the air in time to the soft, tinkling music. His hands came to rest on her shoulders, their eyes locked. She lowered him down a few moments later, the disc slowing and the music fading into a stop. 

“How was that?” she asked, still holding onto his hands. 

“That was incredible,” he said. “Thank you.”

The child’s room fell completely silent. It was usually quiet, but there was a familiar rumble of toys moving and talking as the child slept. Not now, however. Everyone had simultaneously stopped, and tension hung in the air.

“What’s going on?” Winry whispered.

Edward hopped off of her box. “I’ll check.”

“Be careful. I think the jack-in-the-box might have figured out that you left the windowsill.”

Edward smiled at her. “I will.” He peered over the side of the dresser. 

The jack-in-the-box thrust upward and grabbed Edward with his small hands. He cried out, fighting against the other toy’s iron-like grip, but it was no no avail. Winry cried out, reaching out to Edward, but she was stuck inside her box. Edward kicked and struggled, but the jack-in-the-box fell back to the ground and stuffed him into the deep folds of the box. 

“Time to teach you a lesson,” the jack-in-the-box growled. 

Edward kicked against the walls of the box, his little bayonet getting stuck in the folds of the fabric and around the spring. The jack-in-the-box stopped moving, then reached inside the box and grasped Edward. He brought Edward close to his face, his exaggerated features pulled into a snarl. The rest of the tin soldiers hopped off of the windowsill and surrounded the jack-in-the-box. Edward wiggled and strained against the jack-in-the-box’s hand, but his grip was too tight. 

“Let him go!” Winry yelled from across the room.

The toys turned and all shushed her. The child turned over in his bed. 

“Put the tin soldier down,” said a tin soldier. “You’re disturbing the peace.”

“ _He_ disturbed the peace when he started talking to her!”

“Right, like you have the final say on which toys are allowed to talk to each other,” Edward said, still fighting against the jack-in-the-box’s grip.

The jack-in-the-box growled. “Then let me teach you a lesson!” He leaned back as far as his spring would allow. Edward reached out for one of his fellow tin soldiers. Just as his fingers brushed against the tin soldier’s, the jack-in-the-box sprung forward and yeeted Edward at the window. 

There was so much force behind the throw that Edward crashed through a glass pane and out into the cold night air. He hung in the air for a few moments, completely untethered to anything or anyone. 

Then he began to fall.

He tumbled, foot over head, until he clattered on top of a storm drain, almost perfectly balanced on a single rim. Almost.

He fell head-first and backwards into complete darkness, spinning faster and faster and faster and faster until he splashed into dark, murky water. Luckily Edward was a toy, so he didn’t need to breathe. Still, the current violently carried him on, tossing and turning him over and under as he broke the surface and sunk low to the bottom, hitting into walls and other items, spinning, spinning, spinning in complete darkness, going farther and farther away from the child’s room and the other tin soldiers and Winry, always in darkness in a watery grave that seemed to have no end. 

A low roar filled his ears, then slowly grew louder and louder. He broke through the current, streams of water running down his painted eyes. There was moonlight in the distance, coming through iron bars that had the water rushing out of it. Edward closed his eyes as he got closer.

The water exited through the sluice gate and down into the ocean beneath. Ed broke the surface of the water and slowly, painfully, sank into the bottom of the ocean, a cloud of sand emerging around him when he landed. He fell to the side and lay there, slowly sinking into the ocean floor.

* * *

To a tin soldier, time doesn’t exist. The only time that they truly know is that of the child that plays with them. Much like any other toy, their world revolves around a child. They know when the child is asleep, when the child is at school, and when the child is doing chores that they don’t want to do but their parents will ground them if they don’t. Toys also know that time is completely suspended when the child is playing with them, using their imagination to create worlds and stories without number. 

So to Edward, this was normal. All he needed was for a child to pick him up again. Not that he was ever played with before, but he was still a toy. So he waited. On the bottom of the ocean floor he waited, slowly sinking into the sand with the shifting currents. 

He did wonder about Winry. Was the jack-in-the-box still tormenting her? What had happened after he had been thrown out the window? Did the child notice that he was gone?

Again, he didn’t know how much time passed. Why would he? He was a tin soldier, a toy brought to life by the imagination of a child. So he wasn’t paying attention when a large fish came along and swallowed him whole. At that point his face was already buried in the sand so he moved from one dark location to another. 

The fish, however, noticed that it had swallowed a tin soldier. But the fish had already swallowed it, so it kept swimming with extreme discomfort as the toy slowly moved its way through the fish’s digestive system. It was so distracted, however, that it didn’t swerve away from the large net that it literally swam straight into. It stayed there, struggling against both the net and the sharp, pointy thing inside its stomach. 

The fish was not having a good day. 

Above the water on a fishing boat, a handful of fishermen hauled the net upwards and into the small vessel. The fish flopped on the deck as they were put into barrels and buckets. They were inspected, one by one, the ones that were too small or sickly thrown back into the ocean.

The fish that had swallowed Edward was not so lucky.

Once the fishermen had caught enough fish, they turned their fishing boat back to the shore. They hauled the fish off of the boat. Most of the fish were dead by now, having suffocated while in the air. 

They were sold to various vendors across the city. The fish that had Edward in its gullet was sold to a man with a rather large mustache. He had his two children push the cart full of fish back to their stall, where they carefully presented the fish. A few minutes later, the market burst to life.

Vendors called out prices, shoppers milled around, children played in the streets. Many people inspected the mustache man’s wares, even buying a few. The fish that had swallowed Edward was one of those, being placed securely in a basket along with several others. The woman, who had a shock of red hair that was neatly pinned back and wore a servant’s uniform, continued along the market, buying things that she needed. Satisfied, she started walking home. 

Edward thought he was still at the bottom of the ocean.

The woman entered through the back door and set her basket of food on the table. She did put the fish into the icebox however, and there they remained for the rest of the day. She gathered them in the midafternoon and lay them out to thaw. While that was happening, she tied an apron around her waist and started prepping the other things that she was making for dinner. Once she determined that the fish had thawed out, she started to clean them.

When she got to the fish that had swallowed Edward, she paused halfway through cleaning it. She parted some of the fish parts and pulled him out, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She shrugged, then put him into the dirty dishwater where he sank to the bottom as well. 

Edward was surprised. He had _no_ idea how he got here. A part of him hoped that he would be back at the windowsill soon, that he would get to talk to Winry again. But another part of him knew that he was foolish. It was highly unlikely that he would ever see her again, so he had better get used to a different child and a different set of toys. 

Other things joined him in the soapy water until it was completely full and Edward couldn’t see a thing again. It was getting to the point where water was like his second home. 

Large, grasping hands entered the water. Edward shied away from them, the memories of how the jack-in-the-box had held him coming back full force. But one by one, the other items in the soapy water disappeared, until it was only Edward left with the silverware and a spoon that seemed oddly familiar. 

He was next. The hands grabbed him and something scrubbed him, clearing off all of the sand and grime that he had accumulated. Once he was plenty soapy and relatively clear, he was dropped into a basin of crystal clear water, followed by the spoon. A few moments later the hands grabbed him again and placed him on a towel along with the rest of the silverware. He was dried off and put on a plate with cooked fish, potatoes, gravy, and various other vegetables. The plate was taken out to a large dining room, where three people sat: two adults and a child. 

Edward stared at the child. There was no way. It was impossible, but that was _his_ child!

The child’s face lit up when he saw Edward. “Whoa!” he cried out. “What a cool toy! He has one leg, and red is my favorite color! Thanks, Susan!”

The child grabbed Edward off of the plate. He remained there for the entire meal, extremely nervous. If this was the same child, then he _had_ to be going back to see Winry. He would get to see her again!

Once dinner was over, the child took hold of Edward and raced up to his room, bursting through the door. Edward saw the familiar landscape of the child’s room, with the tin soldiers at the windowsill, the wooden train set sprawled across the floor. However, there was no brass box on the dresser. 

“Let’s put you right here,” said the child, putting Edward on top of the hearth, right next to Winry’s box. A fire crackled below him.

The child’s parents called out for him. The child groaned, but did as he was told.

The second that the door closed behind him, the room burst to life. Edward looked around at all of the toys rushing over to the fireplace, chattering and talking excitedly.

The jack-in-the-box burst open with a cacophony of music. “Shut up!” he yelled, bouncing among the toys. He glared up at Edward. “I thought I got rid of you.”

“You certainly tried, I’ll give you that,” Edward said. “But I belong to the child just as much as you do.”

The crank on Winry’s box started to turn.

The jack-in-the-box growled. “We’ll see about that.”

“Stop!” Winry cried, fully emerged from her box. She turned to Edward, her porcelain blue eyes glistening. Edward hopped up onto her box. “I thought you were gone for good,” she said, her voice soft and shaking. “We all did.”

Edward took her hands and squeezed them tight. “I’m back now, and that’s all that matters.”

Winry grinned and pulled him to a hug, lifting him off of his foot. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Footsteps approached. 

“He’s coming!” a teddy bear shouted. All of the toys collapsed onto the ground as the child burst into the room. He took Edward and Winry off of the shelf and put them on the floor. He sat down, arranging the toys how he liked.

Edward surged with pride. This was the first time that the child had played with him. 

The child’s parents called for him again. The child groaned, but left, albeit reluctantly. The toys burst to life again as soon as the door closed behind the child.

“Edward, get behind me,” Winry hissed.

“Why?”

The jack-in-the-box opened, his engorged, overexaggerated features curled into a snarl. Edward hopped onto Winry’s box and behind her, peeking around her tutu. 

“Why are you protecting him?” the jack-in-the-box asked as he slowly hopped to Winry.

“He’s my friend. Unlike you,” she spat. 

The jack-in-the-box snarled. “He left you.”

“You literally threw him out of a window.”

“He’s been gone for a very long time, abandoning all of us.”

“Again: you threw him out of a window. Why do you care so much anyway?”

The jack-in-the-box growled. “Fine then. You want to do this the hard way? We’ll do this the hard way.”

Edward fingered his bayonet and stepped out from behind Winry. “You want me, right? Leave everyone else out of this.”

The jack-in-the-box growled, but he sprung forward at Edward. He jumped out of the way, slashing the jack-in-the-box’s fabric with his bayonet. The jack-in-the-box roared and lunged at Edward again, but Edward just rolled out of the way. The other toys started to cheer with each movement that either Edward or the jack-in-the-box made. 

Still, with each lunge or grasp, the jack-in-the-box pushed Edward closer to the fire. He glanced back at it and gritted his teeth.

“Now I have you!” the jack-in-the-box cried, jumping at Edward. Edward jumped into the air as high as he could--he had plenty of practice, after all--and kicked the jack-in-the-box close to the fire, away from all of the other toys. Edward landed and rolled into a kneeling position.

“That’s what you get for trying to control toys,” he said. “You forgot that you’re a toy.”

“I’ll get you! And I’ll get the ballerina too!” the jack-in-the-box screamed.

“No,” Winry snapped. “You won’t. And my name is Winry, not ‘the ballerina.’ Get it right.”

A log popped, sending a single ember flying into the air. Ed watched it tumble and float, gently landing on the wooden box of the jack-in-the-box. He stood up as the small, insignificant ember caught. “I don’t care!” screamed the jack-in-the-box. “I was here first! I was his first toy! And I’ll… I’ll…” 

Slowly, his head turned, finally seeing the fire. He screamed and jumped into the air, higher than he had ever jumped before. Edward and the rest of the toys could only watch as the jack-in-the-box jumped straight into the fire. Edward turned away, the jack-in-the-box’s screams were too much. Once the fire had consumed him, all that remained of the jack-in-the-box was his spring. It tumbled out of the fire and off of the logs, coming to rest at the foot of Winry’s box. 

Silence hung in the air. 

“I’m sorry it had to be this way,” said one of the rag dolls. “He was a kind toy, once upon a time. He loved the child as much as we all do.”

“He liked the power too much,” said one of the tin soldiers, walking over to Edward. “We’re glad to have you back, soldier.”

Edward snapped to attention. “It’s good to be back.”

The tin soldier turned to the other toys. “Back at position, the child is coming back soon!”

They toys all scattered to where they had been before the fight went down. Edward hopped over to Winry. She was looking at the smoking coil, her expression masked. He hopped onto her box and reached out for her hand.

“I hate what he did to you, but I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right.”

“I know the feeling,” Edward said. 

Child footsteps thudded up the stairs. 

“Talk to you tonight, okay?” Winry asked.

“Of course,” Edward said, letting go of her hand and falling back into attention. He winked at Winry as the child burst into the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a comment/kudos if you liked it!!


End file.
